Adding Pukani dry live rock to an established aquarium

[LoveReef1]

Hello Everyone!
I have a newly established 125 g saltwater aquarium with 60 Lbs live sand and 30 Lbs live rocks and some green chromis. Everything is good so far!
I recently purchased 80 Lbs of Pukani dry live rock. My question is how to add the dry rock to an established aquarium. Any help will be appreciate it and thank you.

 

[RobZilla04]

If it were me I'd like to know if the rock will leach any nutrients into the water.

If yes, then I'd add slowly over time placing about 10-20lbs in at a time while the rest is in a brute container curing.

If no, then I'd add all at the same time and scape once.

I'd be willing to bet you wont have a leaching problem with this rock.

 

[LoveReef1]

Thank you for the quick reply.
I was told to just wash the rock for any dust then just put it in the tank, but I am not sure. I am planing to put the new rock in a saltwater for a bout a week then introduce it to the tank!

 

[top shelf]

If it were me I'd like to know if the rock will leach any nutrients into the water.

If yes, then I'd add slowly over time placing about 10-20lbs in at a time while the rest is in a brute container curing.

If no, then I'd add all at the same time and scape once.

I'd be willing to bet you wont have a leaching problem with this rock.

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't pukani notorious for leaching phosphates? I'd place all rock in rodi and let sit for a few days and test phosphate levels first. If high amounts of phosphate are present do water changes till you get the levels down. This may take awhile. You can add lanthanum chloride to speed up the process. If none present add to display.

 

[crawlerman]

After the week in the container test for phosphates. If the phosphates are high then it's easier to take care of the problem before it goes into the aquarium. Otherwise you will be battling algae until all of the phosphates leach out and are exported from your aquarium. I bought the same rock and have high phosphates. They are still in the garage. If I were in a hurry I would run GFO, but im not so I use my water I take from the aquarium in water changes and use it to change out the rock bin.

 

[LoveReef1]

Perfect I will do that. I really appreciate your help

 

[JUNBUG361]

save The water, when you do water change. Soak the rocks for week or 2 with a small circulation pump. Then add to system. That’s what I would do

 

[LoveReef1]

Thank you! Yes, I am about to do my first water change after having the tank running for about a 3 weeks now with some chromis and a clown tang which are doing just great so far and for that matter I am not sure when to do the first water change since I will be adding my dry rocks in a week from now. Will it be better to do the water change now and use that water for the dry rocks or wait til I introduce the dry rocks then do a water change. Any thoughts?

 

[RobZilla04]

The rocks will be leaching for months so it makes no difference. The longer you cure the roxka outside of the tank the better off you will be. Set a heater and power head in the cure container and forget about it for a while.

 

[LQT]

Dry Pukani will leach phosphates... there’s tons of dried dead stuff on there. Soak it in a brute trash can with RODI water for a couple of days, it will stink... badly. Change the water every couple of days and repeat the process for a few weeks until the water doesn’t stink any more. Then soak in heated saltwater and test for phosphates. It will be sky high. If you’re not in a rush, change the saltwater every week for a few months until the phosphate readings go down. To speed up the process, dose lanthum chloride (commercial strength SeaKlear). Lanthum chloride dosing is detailed in this long but very informative Pukani dry rock curing thread.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2049855

 

[Dmorty217]

How much do phosphates bother you? They will in fact go away. I think it is over kill to acid bath the rocks for months but thats just me. People freak out about nothing in this hobby

 

[homer1475]

I would not add dry pukani to any tank without first washing it and soaking it for a bit to see if phosphates are an issue.

I just rebooted my tank due to dry pukani leeching massive amounts of PO4 that was fueling algae growth and killing corals. Have a look through my build thread and you'll see the issues and corals I have lost over the course of this last year.

Not an overblown issue at all, but I would not acid wash them for a month. A couple hours in muriatic acid, then a soaking in RO/DI while testing PO4, and possibly using some lanthanum chloride to mop up the PO4. Then and only then would I add it to my tank.

 

[LQT]

How much do phosphates bother you? They will in fact go away. I think it is over kill to acid bath the rocks for months but thats just me. People freak out about nothing in this hobby

Have you ever used dry Pukani and would you ever put it directly into your established reef tank? While I agree with you that acid washing is unnecessary (it eats away too much of the rock). I would always recommend curing it properly before adding it to your tank. Although beautiful, the stuff is absolutely filthy.

 

[RobZilla04]

How much do phosphates bother you? They will in fact go away. I think it is over kill to acid bath the rocks for months but thats just me. People freak out about nothing in this hobby

I'ts not freaking out, merely avoiding a potential algae nightmare. The majority of people who quit this hobby due so because they cannot get their tank nutrients under control thus resulting in an algae takeover.

An acid bath is over the top IMO, however curing in salt water with regular water changes is a good idea.

 

[Dmorty217]

Have you ever used dry Pukani and would you ever put it directly into your established reef tank? While I agree with you that acid washing is unnecessary (it eats away too much of the rock). I would always recommend curing it properly before adding it to your tank. Although beautiful, the stuff is absolutely filthy.

I have huge pieces of pukani in my tank currently. The OP said its a newly setup tank so there is not going to be harm in putting it into the tank since there will be plenty of algae to go around and I doubt its a "reef tank" yet.

 

[LQT]

I would wager that the few green chromis that he has in his tank would be dead in no time due to the massive ammonia spike were he to add some uncured Pukani into his tank. We both know that stuff is filthy. If handled properly however, I think it’s the best dry rock available in our hobby.

 

[hijinks]

I'd give the rock a bleach bath then rinse it off in rodi or old tank water a few times then cure it in salt water and test for PO till they are close to 0.

I like bleach over acid since its safer and the acid can remove 15-25% of your rocks weight. Bleach is almost as good but take your time.

Once your PO readings are close to 0, I'd play it safe and add the rock slowly to your tank to be on the safe side.

 

[rjjr1963]

I did acid, bleach and cure for a month. The rock is filthy and you'll save yourself a lot of problems down the road.

 

[LoveReef1]

Just to confirm what Dmorty217 said: yes, this is a new setup. It is 125 G with 60 lbs live sand, 30-40 lbs of live rocks and some Chromis in and no corals that's been running for less than a month. I asked a couple of local fish stores experts here in VA (not petco or petsmart) and I was told just rinse the rocks is a salt water from the aquarium for couple days (maybe a week) and I should be good to go!

Always thank you to all

 

[LQT]

When you smell the water from that first soak, you may very well change your mind... In fact you might want to keep the soaking rock on the porch or in your garage. Trust me!